The emperor was frightened and uneasy. He grew tall and wanted to get up and forced himself to control it. He quietly adjusted his breath several times to calm himself down.

"Lingjun." The emperor was a little hesitant. "The secretary station just received the news that Zhou Yu was in Nanyang and Xiangyang was preparing for war."

Xun Yu frowned slightly. After the emperor established the secretary station, he basically gave up the meticulous management and transferred all the information to the secretary station. Intelligence collection was not only troublesome and cost money, but also easily caused suspicion. He had neither the mood nor the financial resources, nor the desire to have a disagreement with the emperor and Liu Ye, so he narrowed the attention of Bao Chu and others to Chang'an. He basically did not pay attention to things in the distance, waiting for the secretary station to tell the news.

Zhou Yu was in Nanyang and Xiangyang to consolidate his army. Why did the emperor say such an important thing now?

Xun Yu immediately understood. He once suggested that the emperor retreat to Hanzhong or even Yizhou. Now that Zhou Yu is in charge of his army, there is a possibility of targeting Hanzhong, and the emperor is worried that he will persuade him to move to Hanzhong again and give up the plan of the Western Expedition. Sun Ce takes every step forward, and the emperor has limited opportunities for the emperor to fight back, and there is only a glimmer of hope for the Western Expedition. Although retreating to Hanzhong is safe, it is difficult to think about it again. People are always lazy and hate labor. Since they can live a stable life in Hanzhong and Yizhou, how many people can still muster up the courage to cross mountains and cross mountains and fight again?

"Your Majesty, will the Secretary-General confirm that Zhou Yu will launch an attack on Guanzhong or Hanzhong?"

“It is not confirmed yet.”

"Then Your Majesty thinks, if Zhou Yu attacks Guanzhong or Hanzhong, what is the chance of winning?"

The emperor pondered for a moment and shook his head. "It's a 55-5 number."

“Why?”

"Either Guanzhong or Hanzhong, it is inconvenient to pass, especially in Hanzhong. Even if Zhou Yu's subordinates are good at walking on mountain roads and going upstream, transportation of baggage is a big problem. They cannot succeed in a year or two. With too many troops, they cannot spread out, too few troops, and cannot win. The total force should be around 20,000 to 30,000, which must be a long-term confrontation. Even so, the military expenditure consumed every year is 20,000 to 30,000 yuan, and even if Jingzhou is rich, it cannot last for too long. Once Yizhou sends troops to reinforce, Zhou Yu is likely to be ineffective in fighting for a long time."

Xun Yu nodded. "The Taiwei was a meritorious in his teaching, and Your Majesty already has the military spirit. I also think that Zhou Yu's attack is unlikely. In addition to what Your Majesty said, there are two points for reference. One is that Sun Ce himself returned to Jiangdong and had no intention of fighting. The second is that Sun Ce's front line is too long, from the East China Sea to Luoyang, and then in the southern part of Jingzhou, it stretches for thousands of miles and has more than ten troops. The total force exceeds 100,000. Once the war starts with the court, it will be the target of public criticism. He will be attacked from three sides. A 100,000 army will cost only 2 billion yuan a year. If a full war starts, the annual cost will be more than 10 billion yuan, and a few years of accumulation can be consumed in one year. Moreover, Sun Ce has few cavalry, which is conducive to defense but not good at attacking. He cannot cross the river in the north, and cross Wushan in the west. Even if he wins, he cannot make any profit. Why should he cause trouble?"

The emperor breathed a sigh of relief, and showed a hint of relief, and a hint of ashamed. Xun Yu's eyes were farther away than him. He only saw Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Xun Yu had been observing the overall situation. In part, Zhou Yu was indeed preparing for the war, but even if this battle occurred, it was a small-scale conflict and it was impossible to start a full war. The war was too expensive, and the court could not afford it, but Sun Ce could not afford it.

"Let what you say is reasonable."

"Even so, Your Majesty should not be careless. It is advisable to strengthen the contact with Hanzhong to prevent any unexpected events. Yizhou is the only way to retreat for the court, and Hanzhong is the only way to contact Yizhou, and there should be no mistakes."

The emperor nodded repeatedly. This could be imagined without Xun Yu reminding him. Since the risk of breaking up with Sun Ce was too great, he could only give up Yuan Tan. At least the possibility of agreeing to Yuan Tan's conditions was gone. If Yuan Tan's conditions were not agreed to Yuan Tan, he would naturally not get taxes from Jizhou. Only Yizhou could be counted on. Once Yizhou was lost, the court would not be able to starve to death, let alone the western expedition, it would be good if it could not starve to death.

Yizhou cannot be misunderstood.

The emperor did not dare to neglect, so he immediately ordered someone to invite Liu Ye for discussion. Liu Ye's opinion was similar to Xun Yu, so it would be better to go to war with Sun Ce at the moment, so it would be better to slow it down. However, he did not recommend accepting Sun Ce's conditions easily. The court was not easy, and Sun Ce's situation might not be good. Since both sides dared to go to war easily, there was no need to be too wronged and strive for some benefits as much as possible, and the Western Expedition would be one more chance of winning.

Liu Ye immediately put forward a few suggestions: not to change the current system, solve the problem of Sun Ce's jurisdiction over the five prefectures within the existing official system, maintain the dignity of the court, and do not give Sun Ce an opportunity to take advantage of it, and even if it makes concessions, it should delay time as much as possible; Sun Ce must pay the taxes that should be paid to the court, even a part of it. This is the most urgent need of the court and the basis for negotiations between the court and Sun Ce. If Sun Ce refuses to pay taxes, then the negotiations will be meaningless. Just break up, and at least you can negotiate with Yuan Tan; before the negotiations are announced, recalling officials sent to Nanyang, and one can be counted as one. These people have personally experienced the new policy of Nanyang. If they can return to the court, in addition to demonstrating the integrity of the court, they can also promote the governance of Guanzhong. In the future, they will go to the retreat of the valley and confront Sun Ce, and these people can play a role.

Finally, Liu Ye proposed another point: there are already many royal families coming to Chang'an, and the role of these people should be fully utilized, either appoint official positions, or marry with ministers and generals, so as to stabilize the situation in Chang'an as much as possible, and prepare for the general for the Western Expedition. Especially in marriage, the late emperor had few descendants, and King Hongnong unfortunately died early. Now only the emperor and the eldest princess are left. Some daughters with both virtue and virtue should be selected from the royal family to be named princesses, marry with civil and military officials, and increase the power of the royal family. At the same time, some daughters of ministers are selected for the emperor as concubines, and as many people as possible are tied to the royal family. Things like Han Sui and Ma Teng marrying daughters cannot happen again.

The emperor agreed happily and immediately asked Zong Zheng Liu Chong to discuss it. First, choose a suitable person to marry Ma Chao, and first pry a gap between the Xiliang Group.

After the discussion was decided, Xun Yu immediately drafted an edict, and the emperor used the seal to send someone to Wujun to inform Yang Biao to change his strategy.

Han Sui held the wine glass and his eyes flashed.

Ma Teng looked at Han Sui with a sincere smile on his face, just like when he was in Liangzhou. Ma Chao calmed down, squeezed out a smile, and waited for Han Sui's opinions.

After a long time, Han Sui drank the wine in the glass and gently put down the wine glass. "I think this is a good thing."

Ma Chao breathed a sigh of relief. Ma Teng still smiled. "Wen Yue, you can talk about it in detail. I am stupid and can't quite understand."

Han Sui looked at Ma Teng and tilted the corners of his mouth. After so many years of being with Ma Teng, he knew who Ma Teng was. If he was really a stupid person, how could he go from recruiting soldiers to today and joining him? But this is not bad. If he wants to pretend to be stupid, let him pretend. It is always a good thing for outsiders to think that they are one. However, Ma Chao, who just came back, showed his cleverness. If the recruitment is not good, it will be a problem in the future.

Sun Ce's method was so clever that it not only strengthened the Xiliang clique, but also prevented the imperial court from taking it lightly, but also allowed the Xiliang Prefecture to maintain a balance within it. It could not be the only one who could dominate the whole family.

"Shoucheng, you are too loyal and easy to see people too well." Han Sui filled the wine and raised his glass with a smile to greet Ma Teng and his son. After drinking a glass of wine, he continued, "Not whether it is the court or Sun Ce, they are not a good intention. One of them is the descendants of Emperor Gao, and the other is the reincarnation of the king. The fateful battle, whoever wins and loses, is not something that we like to see clearly. We, open our eyes and don't be hurt by them by chance. They are beaten to death, and we will make some profit from it. Their victory or defeat is decided, so we will follow the winner and follow the story of Dou Rong in Hexi. Isn't it beautiful?"

Ma Teng nodded repeatedly and raised his glass again. "Wenyue is still insightful. Wenyue, you are Dou Rong, and we, father and son, follow your orders, and guarantee that there will be no mistakes."

Han Sui laughed, but did not take it to his heart. "Sun Ce owns five states and has sufficient money and food, but he lacks horses. The emperor has great righteousness, but lacks soldiers. Although the population of Liangzhou is not large, the people are simple and they also have horses. They have always been a place where elite soldiers are. Sun Ce wants horses and the emperor wants soldiers, we can provide them, so we can get along with each other."

Han Sui pulled out the short knife from his waist and put it on his outstretched finger. The short knife swayed but did not fall. Han Sui continued: "It is a good thing to be good at both sides, but it is also very dangerous. The key is balance. If you grasp the balance well, you can get along with the left and right. If you don't master the balance well, you will be attacked from both sides. How to balance? If you want to sacrifice yourself and follow others. If Sun Ce wants horses, we will sell horses. If the emperor wants troops, we will send troops. In this way, Sun Ce will give us weapons, money and food, the emperor will give us official positions, and of course there are princesses."

Han Sui laughed, put away his short knife, and laughed at Ma Chao. "You can't refuse the emperor's marriage, but you must remember your position between beds and sex, and don't be dizzy by the pillow wind. I really want to be a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty. It's not easy to be a loyal minister of the court. Han Xin and Peng Yue won't say anything about it. Even Dou Rong's evening scene is very desolate."

Ma Teng nodded frequently to agree. Ma Chao thought. "Uncle, don't worry, although Your Majesty has appointed me as the commander of the Ma Ma, I don't want to stay in the court. Guandong and Guanxi have always been hostile. With the great military achievements of Sanming and Huangfu Taiwei in Liangzhou, I dare not fulfill my expectations. I still want to go to either side if I have the chance in the future."

"Well said," Han Sui sighed. "Shoucheng, Meng Qi is not as confused as my unfilial son, Ziyi. He was sent to see him off for a marriage, but Sun Ce left him to fight. Just fight. So many people didn't die, but he died. Why do you think it's so coincidental? So, Meng Qi is right when he comes back. Even though you have many sons, you can't die so unclear. Besides, in my opinion, among your sons, Meng Qi is the only one who can accomplish great things. Shoucheng, you have to cherish it. If there are so many chaos today, who knows whether this destiny will fall on your Ma family?"

Ma Teng was shocked and shook his head repeatedly. "Wen Yue, you can't say this. My Ma family can afford it."

"Are you afraid I will report you?" Han Sui laughed. "Or, will you report me? Don't worry, in the mind of the emperor, you and I have never been loyal ministers. If you have the chance, he will kill one of us without hesitation, and the next one."

Ma Teng took a breath, then slowly spit out, showing a helpless and bitter smile.
Chapter completed!